With the Maharashtra State SSC and HSC Board examinations approaching near, the state is understood to be heading towards an unprecedented major crisis. Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan Sanstha Mahamandal (MRSSM), an umbrella association of education societies in the state have decided not to allow use the private school and colleges buildings for conducting the examinations. This is in retaliation to the refusal of the state government to meet their long pending demand of providing non-salary grants.

Schools run by private managements in the state, but financially aided by the government until 2004, stopped receiving the aid which they require for paying towards infrastructure maintenance. Actually the government has modified certain conditions to be eligible to receive the grants, which none of the schools can fulfill.

The mode of non-cooperation agitation by the MRSSM will include, on February 21, the first day of standard XII board exams, the members of the association will lock all classrooms and the main gates of the schools. As such the students having centres in those schools will find their centres closed on the day one of the examination.

However government is understood to be working on contingency plans. While government may legally take the custody of the schools through district collectors and break the locks open, MRSSM is questioning as to how the examinations can be conducted without the staff.

Government has made mandatory that all the teachers should be qualified with Teachers Eligibility Test, an important term under RTE act.